DESPITE the big fuss preceding the August 24 demonstration, many analysts expected it to fail, not only because it had no clear goal, but also because of a lack of public enthusiasm for such gatherings and suspicions about the organisers. The organisers of Friday's protest said they wanted to topple President Mohamed Morsi, who came to power via transparent elections, not via a coup. Even people who didn't vote for Dr Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, accepted his election, because the process was democratic. Most of the revolutionary powers refrained from participating in the demonstration, despite their apparent differences with MB rule and their continuous demands for major political reforms, in order to allow the different political powers to play a larger role in the running of the country and the writing of the Constitution. Many people refrained from participating in the protest, because of the threatening language that accompanied it, with fears that there would be violence, in a bid to further destabilise the country. There were threats to torch the MB's headquarters and the response to this was a fatwa that said that it was legitimate to kill the demonstrators. Herein, the public sensed a battle between the Muslim Brotherhood and the remnants of the Mubarak regime. President Morsi was right to confirm the right to peaceful demonstration and the need to protect such demonstrations. Similarly, the Ministry of the Interior has passed its toughest test since the revolution, dealing wisely with the demonstrators, even when some of them insisted on protesting outside the Presidential Palace, blocking Al-Orouba Street. The police forced the demonstrators to respect the rule of law that bans the blocking of this vital road, without however preventing them from demonstrating peacefully. Hopefully, the Ministry of the Interior and other State authorities will pursue this method when dealing with demonstrations and other legal means of expression in future. At the same time, the Muslim Brotherhood and other supporters of President Morsi should also learn to accept opposition and not to accuse people with other opinions of disloyalty. To ensure democratic rule, we should learn to accept the opinions of others and to appreciate that honest patriotic opposition is the only way to protect the nation from dictatorial rule.
